LEGO Lord of the Rings Wargs & Wigs video

LEGO has done an amazing job with the LEGO Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit characters and creatures. They are particularly detailed and true to both the movies and the books. Have you ever wondered how LEGO moulds are made to create new LEGO elements based on movies? Below is an interesting video of the process of creating prototypes for the vicious Wargs, and the fancy beard pieces of the dwarves in the LEGO The Hobbit sets.

Watch as LEGO Senior Designer Gitte Thorsen shares the steps from the initial drawings, to using sculpting-clay to work out shapes, to baking the clay, to carving and refining the hardened clay to finalize the prototype, and to finally make it to finished product.

One thing Gitte hints at several times is that the new design must be compatible with current LEGO products both in style and fit. At least to me this is the most impressive aspect of the work of a LEGO artist; translating real-world (or movie-world) elements that are both accurate to the original concept and yet fit seamlessly into the already established world of LEGO.

It is also interesting to see how the tools used to make LEGO prototypes are quite simple and old-fashioned. No fancy software or high-tech equipment; just paper and clay – the time-tested tools of a true artist.

I really like such behind-the-scenes videos from LEGO. What about you? How did you like the video? Did you learn something? Feel free to share your thoughts in the comment section below!

You may also like to check out the LEGO Lord of the Rings section for more news, reviews and discussions about the Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit sets. Or just select from some of the following recent posts:

It’s a shame they keep trying to take away art classes in School Districts when obviously you see just how talented these artists are. It does’nt have to be in an Art Institute to be a form of art. Great job.

Steven, yeah it is happening in my area too; art and music classes getting cut back. But actually pretty much every industry needs people who are talented with their hands and creative with their minds.

Yeah, on the weekends I sometimes skip a day. Regular readers are not around as much, and for first time visitors it doesn’t so much matter. Sometimes I just need time to do something else, or I just don’t have the inspiration to write. This weekend I re-did my LEGO shelves so I can display more of my MOCs in one place. They were taking over my room.

To bad there aren’t any new post today. Every couple minutes I kept on checking here for a comment or something. It’s very slow today. Did I mention that they are voting to legalize gambling in the Bahamas? It’s supposed to be illegal!